Resolving Differences Around Research Essential To Finding Ebola Vaccine

Aug 07, 2014

Huffington Post: We’ll Never Find an Ebola Vaccine Without Taking Some Risks
Connor Bamford, postdoctoral researcher, and Andrew Shaw, postdoctoral scientist at the Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow

“The current West African Ebola virus outbreak, which has now reached more than 1,000 cases and resulted in more than 800 deaths, is a reminder of the often unpredictable nature of viruses and the difficulties in finding and developing vaccines and antivirals. … [I]t is becoming clear that researchers working on [viruses that pose a continuous threat] don’t agree on how best to study these particularly dangerous viruses and two groups have now emerged with different views. … The fact is, if we are to prevent infections and deaths by developing antivirals and vaccines, continuing research into viruses such as influenza and Ebola virus is critical. … As the most recent Ebola virus outbreak and inevitable fears around novel strains of influenza show, finding ways to counter dangerous viruses will require us to go further than we have done so far — and it is something we will need to resolve soon” (8/6).